Go Fund Me

I set up a Go Fund Me campaign for my book: Why Women Are So Problematic: A Memoir and Irreverent Whimsical Polemic. [ https://www.gofundme.com/andys-book-fund ] on June 27, 2017, Sent a text message to about 25 contacts in my cell phone contact list; emailed it to about 40 people on my email contact list; and posted it to my almost 3,000 "close" FB Friends on FB, including my "loyal" almost 300 "Followers". Got a number of requests to either delete the person's email address from my contacts (3) or remove them from the distribution list I sent the email from (6). A few people replied: "Great, good luck..." and one good friend said she'd donate something when she got her next paycheck. In total, as of a few minutes ago, I have:

Donations: $0

VISITS TO MY CAMPAIGN: 4 VISITS YESTERDAY; 277 VISITS TOTAL

PEOPLE SHARING MY CAMPAIGN: 14 FACEBOOK SHARES

My fiancée was one of the 14 FB Shares!

Got several "helpful" comments about my "Story" being too long and or the Title/Cover mock ups being too scary. I commented on these on my Campaign page.

Had a similar response to an earlier attempt on Kickstarter, which I later learned on NPR from the mouths of the founders of that bogus site that they loved picking "Winners" and pushing their campaigns, and "Losers" and spiking theirs. That was actually reassuring in a f#cked up kinda way--the site is rigged.

Go Fund Me at least looks legit. True, my house didn't burn down; I don't have cancer; and none of my 7 grandchildren needs a heart transplant or some other lifesaving surgery. But not even a $5-dollar Donation. So, my question is, wtf? Please look at my campaign and advise and/or comment.

I was rich once--Information Technology big bucks, Oracle DBA/Senior Systems Analyst contract professional, until the Tech Crash in April 2000, after that, almost 50, a nominally "White" male, actually a second-generation Italian-American, I never worked a full-time job again--am now poor, but still alive...

Comments

Sad to say, over the last 17 years a lot of people have lost ground economically while a small percentage of the population has gotten ahead.

You're logging in at a site where self-publishers do share information about how to get a book ready.

You don't have to be rich t get the job done, you just have to be motivated.

Is there a degenerative cognitive issue preventing you from utilizing the resources at hand?

AndrewSchettino wrote:

HELP!

I set up a Go Fund Me campaign for my book: Why Women Are So Problematic: A Memoir and Irreverent Whimsical Polemic. [ https://www.gofundme.com/andys-book-fund ] on June 27, 2017, Sent a text message to about 25 contacts in my cell phone contact list; emailed it to about 40 people on my email contact list; and posted it to my almost 3,000 "close" FB Friends on FB, including my "loyal" almost 300 "Followers". Got a number of requests to either delete the person's email address from my contacts (3) or remove them from the distribution list I sent the email from (6). A few people replied: "Great, good luck..." and one good friend said she'd donate something when she got her next paycheck. In total, as of a few minutes ago, I have:

Donations: $0

VISITS TO MY CAMPAIGN: 4 VISITS YESTERDAY; 277 VISITS TOTAL

PEOPLE SHARING MY CAMPAIGN: 14 FACEBOOK SHARES

My fiancée was one of the 14 FB Shares!

Got several "helpful" comments about my "Story" being too long and or the Title/Cover mock ups being too scary. I commented on these on my Campaign page.

Had a similar response to an earlier attempt on Kickstarter, which I later learned on NPR from the mouths of the founders of that bogus site that they loved picking "Winners" and pushing their campaigns, and "Losers" and spiking theirs. That was actually reassuring in a f#cked up kinda way--the site is rigged.

Go Fund Me at least looks legit. True, my house didn't burn down; I don't have cancer; and none of my 7 grandchildren needs a heart transplant or some other lifesaving surgery. But not even a $5-dollar Donation. So, my question is, wtf? Please look at my campaign and advise and/or comment.

I was rich once--Information Technology big bucks, Oracle DBA/Senior Systems Analyst contract professional, until the Tech Crash in April 2000, after that, almost 50, a nominally "White" male, actually a second-generation Italian-American, I never worked a full-time job again--am now poor, but still alive...

Thanks for your comments. I am motivated; Trump's unlikely election in Nov 2016, and millions of mostly women in the streets, provided the incentive to finish and publish my book. Although I love the phrase: "a degenerative cognitive issue", no such issue is at hand. In short, the [financial] resources at hand are "SLIM" and NONE"; the crushing soul sucking weight of my on-going Poverty Experiment are more than a small impediment. I don't think my boot straps being pulled up, my motivation being greater, and/or utilizing the resources at hand are the problem. Some funds, to pay for a Lulu publishing package, keep my apartment, the lights on, and internet connected, may be more than a little helpful. So would any comments after looking at my Go Fund Me campaign site...

Per your story due to your age you should qualify for Social Security retirement benefits. May not be great, but it's more than I have at this point in time. Something about a fiancee also indicates other avenues for shelter.

Now, since the phone number you posted indicates an address in the Silver Springs or Chevy Chase MD area near D.C., I feel sure there may be social services for seniors there as well.

If you really want comments on your work, try uploading some to this site. There are plenty of talented people who won't have a problem giving you advice.

As for the Go Fund Me thing, let me know how you make out. I could do with getting a broken tooth (for over three years now) fixed, as well as a new partial plate. Some funds for a marketing package would also be nice. Being able to get the water pressure up enough to take a shower would be nirvana. It doesn't happen often of late, but there are nights where I'm almost at the point of fixing Poke & Grit for dinner, as in poke your feet under the table and grit your teeth cause there isn't much more.

Believe it or not there are people who've managed to self-publish whose funds were slim to none.

AndrewSchettino wrote:

Thanks for your comments. I am motivated; Trump's unlikely election in Nov 2016, and millions of mostly women in the streets, provided the insentive to finish and publish my book. Although I love the phrase: "a degenerative cognitive issue", no such issue is at hand. In short, the [financial] resources at hand are "SLIM" and NONE"; the crushing soul sucking weight of my on-going Poverty Experiment are more than a small impediment. I don't think my boot straps being pulled up, my motivation being greater, and/or utilizing the resources at hand are the problem. Some funds, to pay for a Lulu publishing package, keep my apartment, the lights on, and internet connected, may be more than a little helpful. So would any comments after looking at my Go Fund Me campaign site...

Of the two covers shown on the gofundme, the left cover (the artistic rendering from the photo, not the photo proper) is the better cover. The photographed cover has too much zone 1 and zone 0 in the back and along the skyline at the sea. In both cases, the image is composed with vert central and symmetrical lines. One typically composes an image using either the rule of thirds or the "Golden Mean" (proportions based on fibonacci spirals). The left image, with the strong title and subtitle above the main image, tends to divide the image into the title bar and the space below, thus shifting closer to the fibonacci proportions, as far as the skyline is concerned.

Imho, of course.

Now, regarding some of the text involved: As we tend to remind each other here, the first thing that a reader learns about our writing style and skill level is what they read in our blurbs and our comments. In a post above, you wrote "insentive" in place of incentive. This may be a pun, but the casual reader will perceive it as an error. It creates an appearance of carelessness and poor workmanship.

Let's look at some text from the GoFundMe site:

"A longtime plutonic friend, [IS THAT A PUN OR AN ERROR?] Annie Anonymous, decided to tell me as I started writing, just as I was breaking up with a woman I had lived with for almost 9 years, that my love for her was reciprocal; that she had loved and wanted me too for the 16 years we had been "just friends."[Convoluted and undecipherable sentence]A wonderful if brief lover relationship ensued. Between mind altering and sometimes life-threatening [for me at least] lovemaking sessions with my goddess lover, I wrote and she content edited about 235 pages: The Foreword; all of Part 1: Amazement and Awe [Chapters 1 through 6; 98 pages]; and much of Part 2: Some Unpleasant Truths [Chapters 7 through 11; 137 pages]. "

Let me stop you there. Passive voice is not dead, but it should not be used this much.

If I were writing this, my approach would be like this:

As one long term relationship came to an end, I embarked on a new chapter when an old friend, Annie, told me that she loved me. She had loved me for our entire 16 year friendship, as I had also loved her. We became lovers; Wonderful, mind-altering, life-endangering, love-making lovers. In this brief but monumental season of my life, I wrote about 235 pages of this book, and she content-edited them. This book is my tribute to her, and my love-song.

Alright, I put some words into your mouth (forgive me) but note the techniques: I used active sentences instead of passive; I removed convoluted sentence structures, and I constructed a single image out of the scattered adjectives (mind-altering, wonderful, life-threatening). I summed it up with making it a tribute to her and a love-song; otherwise it comes across as the sort of story teen boys tell each other about "This cool chick I made out with."

...

Next section:

"A direct message to Women:

Let me remove any doubts or concerns the title of my book may engender. The Book is a Patriarchy demolishing Trojan Horse. The cover and title were deliberately chosen and intended to encourage men, especially young men who really need the help, to buy and read it. I’m sure women will read it, if for no other reason, to see if they need to form a raiding party, hunt me down, and kill me. I trust you will agree that will not be needed. I had to fight with Annie over every sentence, paragraph, and page, throughout the entire writing process. "

Okay, let's talk. First, if you have to tell women that it's a patriarchy-demolishing Trojan horse (note the capitals and the hyphen, please), then you've missed an important point in the cover design, title, subtitle, and blurbs. You shouldn't have to wink and say, "I'm trying to trick boys into buying it because there's a naked woman on the cover, and then we'll change their attitudes with all the clever writing, wink wink."

Suggesting, even facetiously, that anyone might want to hunt you down and kill you ("Form a raiding party" is inaccurate and unnecessary verbiage) is a non-starter. Don't go there.

You fought with Annie over every sentence (cut "paragraph and page," as the orders of magnitude are in the wrong order -- having fought overy every sentence, fighting over the paragraph would be redundant, would it not?) -- But were you fighting with her over:

a.) grammar?

b.) style?

c.) personal remarks and anecdotes?

d.) a secret patriarchial attitude that you harbor?

e.) whether to use vowels?

It does nothing for your thesis concept in this section (that the book demolishes patriarchy) to say that you fought with Annie. Also, who's Annie in terms of having expertise as a judge of patriarchial themes in writing? Why is it more significant to fight with her as opposed to fighting with the lady next door, your ex-wife, Bella Abzug, or a fire hydrant? How does that fight bring value to the book?

Then you make a note to men and boys, and you say, "wink wink, nod nod, there's a naked woman on the cover, so buy the book, you horny little beasts."

Granted, she's a decent specimen from the back, but most people have seen a naked woman at some point, and are not going to be so enthralled that they have to buy the book, because it's about that naked woman on the front. Which, as far as they know, might be a completely different naked woman from the one in the book.

In short, that part -- yeah, I know, you're being facetious -- but it comes across as shallow.

Which leads me to the main issue, imho. You did ask for feedback, remember, and I firmly believe that we do no favors if we just tell each other how great things are.

The main issue is that the book project seems like a shallow vanity project. You want to finish writing a book about a former lover. Wonderful for you. But what you fail to realize is that your sexual history doesn't happen to be of general interest to the general population. The experience was mind-blowing FOR YOU. Good for you. Why should we want to read about it? How will it illuminate us? Does it say something profound about women in general, or about relationships, or about the general human condition? Will it tell us the meaning of life? Will it at least be entertaining to someone who wasn't there and doesn't know the people involved?

Or is it the kind of rambling story that teenagers tell each other about "This one cool chick I made out with?"

No offense, and I'm sorry if this wasn't the feedback you hoped for, but there it is. Hope it helps.

Your post highlights what I have long suspected: social media does not always work when it comes to promoting books. It is not the magic be all and end all. I have always wondered about why anyone would want to fund an unknown author. What is in it for them? A copy of the book? That doesn't sound like a big deal.

You don't need a penny to start self publishing on Lulu; forget about the publishing package for now because if people don't want to fund you there is nothing else you can do. Why not go down the self-published, do everything yourself route? If you find that you are starting to sell but don't have the money to advertise and promote, and that is the only thing preventing you from hitting the big time, that might be the time to start crowd funding. People will see that you have got the ball rolling but, as for myself, I am far too sceptical to ever want to fund a self-published author. I would think he simply wants to get paid before the book even goes on sale.

Thanks for your reply to my reply. My request that you check out my Go Fund Me campaign page was apparently for not. My social security income and other details of my financial situation are addressed, as are links to a detailed annotated TOC of my entire book, a mature draft of the Foreword and Part 1, and a section in Part 2,Nightmare Scenario 2. As for social services, my awesome $1,400/month Social Security benefits and $2,000/yr income from part-time Tai Chi classes I teach, plus my fiancée’s "substantial" income as a secretary and part-time musician [under $20,000 for me, and about $40,000 for my domestic partner] make us too “wealthy” for any social service benefits, even here in rich, liberal, Blue State Montgomery County, MD.

I did look at your Lulu Author site, which is awesome. Not only have you published a number of books, all of which look very interesting, your profile indicates that my assumption that you are young are quite wrong, my bad. The reiteration of your ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ advice are fine, if a bit Trumpian. Like a significant majority of my fellow citizens, Trump is not my guy and I await his inevitable removal from Office in disgrace. If need be, I can wait until after the 2018 mid-term elections and a hoped-for and well-earned Republican bloodbath; at the hands of Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. That said, a review of my campaign site and the book documents linked there would be greatly appreciated.

Damning but great feedback. As you point out, I did ask. It's too late to rewrite my book, and at a week less than 67 years old, surely too late for a personality overhaul. I'll reread your comments a few times, nap and sleep on it, but I think the bottom line is that just reading my pitch was enough for you to dismiss, if not hate the book. I may attempt to rewrite my pitch, since that is doable. Otherwise, I think abandoning the entire effort may be the solution. A bitter pill to swallow...

For the record, my technical editor, Barbara Ardinger, did valiantly try to get me to use less passive voice throughout my book, and I did adopt most of her edits.

OK, so I didn't sleep or even nap on this. [I edited this post an hour after my original reply, rather than posting an update.] I fixed the "insensitive" word error with the correct "incentive" in my earlier comment here, good catch. Apparently, I need an editor for my posts too; not just my book! My sometimes on-demand-editor fiancée was "delighted" when I told her. I considered your paragraph rewrite but it is too well written and unlike my "unique" style. [I think you said something about ‘teenage boys talking,’ ouch!], so I left the original in my Go Fund Me Story. Rather than trying to edit the separate appeals to Men and Women in that Story, I just deleted both. Kills two birds with one stone: shortens a too long story and removes a not as funny as I intended gimmick. Finally, I added a Budget to my campaign Story, to demonstrate that I didn't just pull the $15,000 Goal amount out of my **bleep**. [I had pulled the $15K amount out of my **bleep**, but fortunately a detailed budget comes in at just about $15,000, with only a small $1,750 kludge!]

Rather than abandoning my 15-year on-again, off-again writing project, your devastating critique of my writing style and book [if not me, personally, although it all did feel “a little” judgmental] notwithstanding, I’m going to press on. I may look more closely at my overuse of the passive voice, on my final read-through and editing, and identify and delete a few gratuitously juvenile passages, even if I find them hilarious. My bad.

All kidding aside, I do appreciate you taking the time to look at my stuff and provide detailed and helpful if painful to hear feedback. I like to tell people I take negative feedback well. That I get repeated opportunities to make good on that boast is at least a confirmation of my belief in Karma and Cosmic Consciousness, if not evidence of the God that others presume exists…

Ah, the author spotlight. I'm far from rich and a long distance from being well-known, the latter part being to my liking. My royalty income from Lulu for the last four years averages $5.625 per annum, after taxes. I have neither the time to actively market and promote on my own nor the funds to pay someone else to do so for me. I wrote my books, I edited them myself, I paid someone to do the covers, which I am no longer able to do. I'm currently learning how to craft my own covers, though I'm at the beginners stage.

Writing is an avocation for me, not my primary mission and set of duties. I put in 17 hour days seven days a week. I try to operate as professionally and as competently as possible in a wide variety of venues, and I do so.

The world I am capable of operating in is interesting to state it mildly. On one end of the scale I am capable of interacting with people who wield a great deal of influence and power, while on the other end are individuals you should probably consider extremely dangerous.

Most of my contemporaries are currently defunct, meaning I have very few people to actively converse with who can actually relate to certain issues. Of those left, some are missing body parts you take for granted while others simply want to forget what they find too painful and / or horrific to remember.

Looking at your posts and your approach both clinically and objectively, I'm trying hard to be nice and empathetic, even if I'm not overly sympathetic.

There is nothing you can tell me about "soul crushing poverty" that I haven't personally experienced to a much worse degree than you, even though I am a few years younger.

The political references bore me, as both your parties are different faces of the same coin, both major parties being part of the problem with neither party being part of the long-term solutions society in the US needs.

If you want my advice, learn to deal with adversity on your own as nobody can do that for you. Find a place to live that is within your means. Accept that as long as you can draw breath and you haven't lost your mind, you can still enjoy the time you've got. As well, quit inferring a political allegiance to me that does not exist -- it's both insulting and very distant from the reality.

AndrewSchettino wrote:

Thanks for your reply to my reply. My request that you check out my Go Fund Me campaign page was apparently for not. My social security income and other details of my financial situation are addressed, as are links to a detailed annotated TOC of my entire book, a mature draft of the Foreword and Part 1, and a section in Part 2,Nightmare Scenario 2. As for social services, my awesome $1,400/month Social Security benefits and $2,000/yr income from part-time Tai Chi classes I teach, plus my fiancée’s "substantial" income as a secretary and part-time musician [under $20,000 for me, and about $40,000 for my domestic partner] make us too “wealthy” for any social service benefits, even here in rich, liberal, Blue State Montgomery County, MD.

I did look at your Lulu Author site, which is awesome. Not only have you published a number of books, all of which look very interesting, your profile indicates that my assumption that you are young are quite wrong, my bad. The reiteration of your ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ advice are fine, if a bit Trumpian. Like a significant majority of my fellow citizens, Trump is not my guy and I await his inevitable removal from Office in disgrace. If need be, I can wait until after the 2018 mid-term elections and a hoped-for and well-earned Republican bloodbath; at the hands of Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. That said, a review of my campaign site and the book documents linked there would be greatly appreciated.

Damning but great feedback. As you point out, I did ask. It's too late to rewrite my book, and at a week less than 67 years old, surely too late for a personality overhaul. I'll reread your comments a few times, nap and sleep on it, but I think the bottom line is that just reading my pitch was enough for you to dismiss, if not hate the book. I may attempt to rewrite my pitch, since that is doable. Otherwise, I think abandoning the entire effort may be the solution. A bitter pill to swallow...

For the record, my technical editor, Barbara Ardinger, did valiantly try to get me to use less passive voice throughout my book, and I did adopt most of her edits.

OK, so I didn't sleep or even nap on this. [I edited this post an hour after my original reply, rather than posting an update.] I fixed the "insensitive" word error with the correct "incentive" in my earlier comment here, good catch. Apparently, I need an editor for my posts too; not just my book! My sometimes on-demand-editor fiancée was "delighted" when I told her. I considered your paragraph rewrite but it is too well written and unlike my "unique" style. [I think you said something about ‘teenage boys talking,’ ouch!], so I left the original in my Go Fund Me Story. Rather than trying to edit the separate appeals to Men and Women in that Story, I just deleted both. Kills two birds with one stone: shortens a too long story and removes a not as funny as I intended gimmick. Finally, I added a Budget to my campaign Story, to demonstrate that I didn't just pull the $15,000 Goal amount out of my **bleep**. [I had pulled the $15K amount out of my **bleep**, but fortunately a detailed budget comes in at just about $15,000, with only a small $1,750 kludge!]

Rather than abandoning my 15-year on-again, off-again writing project, your devastating critique of my writing style and book [if not me, personally, although it all did feel “a little” judgmental] notwithstanding, I’m going to press on. I may look more closely at my overuse of the passive voice, on my final read-through and editing, and identify and delete a few gratuitously juvenile passages, even if I find them hilarious. My bad.

All kidding aside, I do appreciate you taking the time to look at my stuff and provide detailed and helpful if painful to hear feedback. I like to tell people I take negative feedback well. That I get repeated opportunities to make good on that boast is at least a confirmation of my belief in Karma and Cosmic Consciousness, if not evidence of the God that others presume exists…

Andrew Paul Schettino

If it is any consolation, I don't actually hate you or your book. Frankly as art (and not as a book cover), the photo wasn't bad, though the strong shadow did have a bit much zone 0 for my taste.

Writing as you write, in your style is your right, and rightly so. If passive is your voice, then so be it. Who am I to say otherwise? And thank you for receiving the criticism courteously; thank you more for acting on it. Quite often here, we give advice in vain.

I did re-read my critique to see if I was being overly harsh, but I do try to live by the principle that we do no favors when we whitewash. I may be wrong about your book -- I did not read any of the book itself. I was only commenting on the impression given by the GoFundMe campaign. Personally, I have a high level of tolerance, so your book does not offend me in any way, and I do not judge you for having written it. In fact, the simple fact that you've written your book is a point in your favor -- many people do not manage to meet that self-imposed goal.

As to abandoning the project or pursuing it further, I would ask you to consider it as something of a matrix: First, is there something in this that would truly be of interest to others, and across that answer set, is this a story you want to see in print even if no one else would be interested?

If Yes/Yes or Yes/No, then by all means proceed, as a common good and a boon to society;

If No/Yes, then skip the GoFundMe and just publish the book (your budget will shrink to the number of copies you buy at the printing rate -- greatly discounted); and

If No/No, then, well, sometimes our deathless prose must end its days hidden in the sock drawer.

That would be my suggestion on the matter.

Also, just as a point to consider... It costs almost nothing to just publish a book here. If you place it for distribution, you must buy and approve one copy, but that's it. So if you just want to ahve this in print, or buy a few copies for folks you know, that might be the way to go, and would save you $15,000 and change. Just a thought.

Sphinx, You wield the written word with great precision. I was looking for a gentle way to make a couple of your points, but you seem to have done better than my mere power to add or detract. Well-spoken, and with just the right tone.

Great reply, well said and points taken. My frustrations, demons, and cranky sensitivities notwithstanding, I do appreciate this amazing life. [Tried to include a Poem I wrote, This Moment, but it’s in a photo that is apparently too huge (625 MB) to upload!] I think I got your lack of sympathy right off the bat in our Round 1, to put it mildly...

Thanks again for taking the time. As they say in the great rock opera Tommy: "We'll forsake you; going to rape you; let's forget you better still." Being engaged, even if without sympathy, is much preferred to being ignored, dismissed, or forgotten. In my admittedly not mainstream world view, you are a faithful friend.

Thanks for your comments and advice. I'm having trouble seeing all the replies to my original post; seems I have to continuously refresh the page. Also the post/reply presentation isn't great. I'm Yes/Yes on your questions, so onward...

Thanks for your comments and advice. I'm having trouble seeing all the replies to my original post; seems I have to continuously refresh the page. Also the post/reply presentation isn't great. I'm Yes/Yes on your questions, so onward...

If my response offended you, I apologize. I have my own demons as it were, and I strive to not afflict others due to my personal pain. Perhaps some perspective will help.

I have a different paradigm. I deal with the world as it is, not the world as I wish it to be. When I focus on patterns, I have a great deal of situational awareness others tend to find discomfiting. When I find I can nudge a pattern to effect change for the better, I do so despite what it may temporarily cost me personally. After all is said and done I do have a responsibility to the society I am embedded in, to leave it better than when I entered, and I take said responsibility seriously.

The Wife is many years younger than I, we have two small children and another on the way. We get by just above poverty line by choosing what we need over what we want. We do not receive public assistance we qualify for because of its intrusive nature.

My duty to my House and my replacements will take me the rest of my unnatural life. Their Graces are likely to be better prepared than I was so many decades ago, as they will need to be when it's time for them to serve the society in which they are embedded.

My current context may have mountain lions, rattlesnakes, wild hogs, and other dangerous wildlife, but those dangers don't detract from the beauty of the spot. It's better than dealing with the dangers of the nearby metro area.

And now I have to go water seedlings with Her Grace who has gotten quite impatient. Princesses (in my experience) tend to be bossy.

AndrewSchettino wrote:

Great reply, well said and points taken. My frustrations, demons, and cranky sensitivities notwithstanding, I do appreciate this amazing life. [Tried to include a Poem I wrote, This Moment, but it’s in a photo that is apparently too huge (625 MB) to upload!] I think I got your lack of sympathy right off the bat in our Round 1, to put it mildly...

Thanks again for taking the time. As they say in the great rock opera Tommy: "We'll forsake you; going to rape you; let's forget you better still." Being engaged, even if without sympathy, is much preferred to being ignored, dismissed, or forgotten. In my admittedly not mainstream world view, you are a faithful friend.

I'm not the best writer around and I know it. I'm also not the best at many of the functions I have to perform, but I do try to do my best. I will have my duty for slightly over eighteen more years before I can think of allowing time to drag me kicking and screaming into the night.

On a brighter note, after I reach my expiration date I'll likely be given charge of a contigent of phantom grunts, sappers, and engineers building a roadway through an infernal swamp.

Skoob_Ym wrote:

Sphinx, You wield the written word with great precision. I was looking for a gentle way to make a couple of your points, but you seem to have done better than my mere power to add or detract. Well-spoken, and with just the right tone.